If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Opened up the Koto ArtFX+ Artoo & Threepio. What an amazing set, the sculpt and paint on R2 is outstanding; 3PO's beautifully chromed and painted. R2's dome and ankles are articulated but not his hips (it's a model kit technically) but the hips can be removed and repositioned to a 2-legged stance. 3PO's head and shoulders swivel, the wrists also swivel and the right wrist is replaceable with another hand that can grip the included commlink. And they both have magnetic feet. The color on both figures is rich and incredibly accurate.

Originally Posted by TeeEye7

Not sure how prevalent they may be in LA, but my town sports several geology/mineral clubs. Many have water-cooled band saws for slicing materials and tumblers for polishing rock and minerals. Culver City Rock & Mineral Club looks interesting. (http://www.culvercityrocks.org/). There are rock/mineral retail stores. Perhaps they may offer a cutting service.

It's a personal preference, but cutting and polishing a geode is far more pleasing to my eye than looking at shards.

Good find, that's only a mile up the street from here. A water-cooled band saw for this, I wonder if my mom's husband's job has one - his last did but that was aerospace where this new one is particle accelerators. On the other other hand, I may have to give one of these geodes a crack just to see if it can come out looking ok.

Originally Posted by figrin bran

I have the Superman version of the Chucks.

My haul wasn't that extensive unless you count the toy hauls over the past month that I purposely did not open until the 25th.
But as for presents I received:

Amazon gift card
Lego Hobbit Bag End set
TVC Nien Nunb, Lumat

Some of my haul list was post-mid-month personal purchases, so go for it.

I didn't know they did a Bag End set, I hadn't seen everything at Comic-Con. The pics online look really good from the front and alright from the back, nice get.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

A Doctor Who lunch box from my girlfriend, and a Darth Vader alarm clock radio from her kids. Also, the usual bag of jams and goodies from my sister, and several treats and a couple gift cards from co-workers. Also, the usual Christmas check from my mom was a bit larger this year.

I received the same alarm clock. That, 3 classic Target Action Hero 3 packs and some display cases to store loose figures are the only SW related hauls I got this year.

Also received $50 in Olive Garden/Red Lobster gift cards
new doors for my bathroom closet (which will be returned)
new dress pants
a new dress shirt
fancy tie

my hauls for teaching was the most lucrative ever:
2 ties
3 ornaments including a Vader one
$20 Applebees card
$15 Panera card
$15 Tim Hortons card
2 gift boxes of chocolate and candy
2 packs of dry erase markers (I jokingly made a reference during my observation that if students were to get me anything for Christmas, it would be this since my supply needed replenishing).

"The dark side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is. But this I am sure of - do their duty the Jedi will." --Yoda from Attack of the Clones.

Maybe not. I noticed a link for the clock appeared in my post, but I did not create it. The clock in the link was not the one I got. The one I have is a tall Vader with his lightsaber pointed down in front of him.

Not technically for me, but I've taken advantage of clearance sales and almost doubled my son's Thomas track collection in the past few days. I don't feel so bad spending this, since there's NOTHING on the SW/TF/Joe front for me, and because my daughter seems to love them as much (or more) than he does.

And I've got to admit, they're the sort of toys I would've given an arm for when I was a kid.

Yep, that was my Christmas. Not a thing. 2012 has just been one big long craptastic year for me.

Sorry to hear it dude. Well, you can pretend the poster I sent was xmas.

Originally Posted by El Chuxter

Not technically for me, but I've taken advantage of clearance sales and almost doubled my son's Thomas track collection in the past few days. I don't feel so bad spending this, since there's NOTHING on the SW/TF/Joe front for me, and because my daughter seems to love them as much (or more) than he does.

And I've got to admit, they're the sort of toys I would've given an arm for when I was a kid.

Are these the wooden track Thomas series or something else?

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

Trackmaster, which are a bit bigger, plastic, and have motorized trains. I would've gone with the wooden sets, given his age, but Grandma (who has a lot of disposable income and nothing to spend it on and gets the kids too much garbage) got him this huge Kohl's exclusive set before his birthday. I don't want two or even three different scales of trains going on; not enough room, particularly when a 2-year-old tends to spread stuff out.

Yeah, changing scales would be a disaster at this point, I remember how it was when I was young and into Brio wooden trains and how nothing was the same scale, so it was always Brio or nothing in terms of trains.

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.